“How much RAM does my phone need?” is a question I’ve asked myself numerous times over the past two decades. Our devices power through a memory barrier every few years, whether it’s the breakout of multi-tasking or the more recent advancement in high-end mobile gaming. While 8GB has been sufficient for even the most adventurous multitaskers, the advent of AI in our pockets is pushing that requirement higher. For my next upgrade, I’m eyeballing a phone with at least 12GB RAM and probably even more.
Top-of-the-line Android flagships are (mostly) already clear of this margin, but some recent smartphones have been caught out by their lack of memory. Google’s Pixel 8 is perhaps the most well-known example; Gemini Nano for the Pixel 8 and 8a arrived many months later than the 12GB-toting 8 Pro. Even now, you have to jump through Developer settings hoops to unlock features like Recorder Summaries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Pixel 9 series is expected to debut with 12-16GB RAM to ensure they can all power next-gen use cases.